Dana White: Everything in the world has been pussified

Jose Rodrigues: As you know, we love our hockey here. And it remains the only other pro sport that allows fighting. Curious as to your thoughts on fighting in hockey?

Dana White: I’m not a big hockey fan. But I respect how talented you have to be to play hockey. Soccer? That’s a whole other ball. Can’t stand soccer. It’s the least-talented sport on Earth. There’s a reason three-year-olds can play soccer. When you’re playing a game when the net is that big and the score is 3-1 (and that’s a blowout) are you kidding me? You know how untalented you have to be to score three times when the net is that big? Now back to hockey. You have guys on skates with crooked sticks and you have to hit a puck into a net that’s the same size as the goalie. And at any time someone could take your head right off your shoulders and it’s perfectly legal. That’s a real sport that takes real talent, speed and all the things you need to be a real athlete. Now fighting is a part of hockey and has been since Day one. It’s part of the game. It is what it is. I think we live in a world now where everything has been so pussified. When I grew up we didn’t wear helmets when we rode our bikes. We didn’t have car seats. We didn’t have all this stuff. Now things are safer and we should be safer but let’s not go overboard. Fighting’s a part of hockey. Period.

JR: Will we see women fighters in the UFC any time soon?

DFW: I’ve always said there aren’t enough good women to create an entire division. But we will have these great one-off fights like Ronda Rousey versus Meisha Tate. That was a big fight and a lot of people were interested because those two women can actually really fight. Now, everyone disagrees with me on this, even Lorenzo, but I’m right. I think it’s going to be very hard to find worthy opponents for Rousey. I think she has all the tools and ability to become a really huge star, but she’s going to lack opponents. Hope I’m wrong. But I don’t see it happening.

JR: It seems media are treating the sport as more of a sport now. Are you frustrated it took so long?

DFW: They’re not. In Canada you feel that way because you’re here. We did this without the mainstream media in the U.S. To this day, the mainstream media the U.S. doesn’t give us…not us, the athletes…the respect they deserve. That’s why I’ve become such a monster on social media. You don’t want to cover us? You know what? We’ll talk directly to our fans.

JR: If you could create a Frankenfighter — from selected parts of top UFC fighters — what would he be like?

DFW: • The Jiu-jitsu of Frank Mir. • The wrestling of Randy Couture. • The chin of Chuck ‘The Iceman’ Liddell — when Chuck had a chin. That was the thing that made him such an exciting fighter. Great takedown defence, knockout power in both hands and a chin from hell. • The kicks of Georges St-Pierre. • The punches of Thiago Alves. He has the knockouts and most knockdowns in UFC history. • The heart of Frankie Edgar. • The mental fortitude of Anderson Silva. • The strategy ability of Randy Couture. • The old school knees would go to Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua. • The elbows of Jon ‘Bones’ Jones.

JR: What are the top three walk-in tunes in the UFC right now?

DFW: One of the new top ones is ‘I’m coming home.’ Anyone who fights in their hometown is playing that. Anything by Rage Against the Machine always gets played. And maybe Run This Town by Jay-Z.

But Country Boy Can Survive (Matt Hughes walk-in tune) is one of my all-time favourites. The first time I put on a cowboy hat was 13 seconds ago so it’s not like I’m a big country fan or anything.

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